Main description:

Celebrated dance artist and body therapist Miranda Tufnell takes us on a moving and inspiring exploration of the field of dance and health. For 14 years she worked in a GP surgery in Cumbria and the book opens with a vivid account of an arts project that she and her collaborators ran there for people with long-term health conditions.

This is a book about the body and movement, about imagination and health. It gathers many stories, voices and activities from artists, patients and health practitioners. The arts have long played a role in medicine and there is a substantial body of evidence for the potency of arts practice in strengthening our resources and capacity for wellbeing.

While the work is sourced in the body and movement, it is not only written for people with a dance background. Listening creatively to the body strengthens our body intelligence and ability to look after ourselves effectively. Practitioners from many backgrounds come into this field and will find something of interest. This book sets out to inspire rather than to teach, to offer windows into practice, and to convey something of what it is like to work in this field.

Contents:

Acknowledgments
Foreword Dr Gavin Young
Preface My story of movement

Introduction A medicine within
PART 1 'A Breath of Fresh Air' - an account of a project. Brenda Mallon and Miranda Tufnell

PART 2 Approaches to Practice
Breath
Touch
The practice of saying yes, Eva Karczag
Between you and me
Self care in times of chaos and violence, Michal Shahak
Getting your bearings - movement and sensing
Towards meaning - body, health and imagination
'Chance of fair' - writing with people with mental and physical health issues, Kay Syrad

PART 3 Laying the Foundations - movement in early years development, Karen Adcock Doyle and Jasmine Pasch

PART 4 Practitioner Accounts
What is this pill called dance? - music and movement in hospital, Filipa Pereira-Stubbs
Harry: the story of a child in hospital, Lisa Dowler (co-written with Kellie Rixon, Harry's mother)
Dancing recall: making connections, Daphne Cushnie
Moving forward with Parkinson's, Amanda Fogg
Breath and becoming in mental health and addiction, Sister Bridget Folkard
A dance for Buddug, Cai Tomos
What is health?

Permissions
Illustrations
Biographies of Contributors
Bibliography and Resources